


What Is A Dream?

by Pugmom1969



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:08:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24001093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pugmom1969/pseuds/Pugmom1969
Summary: Happily married to Lily Evans, Severus Snape is surprised when his wife asks him one day, “Whatever happened to that brilliant student you used to talk about? Granger something?” she wondered. Severus sets off to investigate where Miss Granger disappeared to. He discovers all is not well and what is his wife hiding?
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Severus Snape, Lily Evans Potter/Severus Snape
Comments: 8
Kudos: 109





	What Is A Dream?

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer - All recognizable characters belong to JK Rowling and associates. No copyright infringement intended. 
> 
> by Pugmom1969 (originally used SherlockHolmes1969)

It was finally over. They had won, at a great cost, but still, it was worth celebrating. Severus Snape was the most surprised that he had survived – Nagini’s bite had not killed him after all. He was in St. Mungo’s for several months before being released to his fiance’s care. He wasn’t sure who that was until he saw the most beautiful woman he had ever met or would meet. 

Several months later, Lily Evans stood before him, looking glorious in white, a veil covering her face as she smiled up at him. He glanced down at her hands, realizing the Prince family ring was on her left ring finger. 

Their life together was wonderful, Severus decided. Lily worked at the Ministry in some Department he had never heard of, while he toiled away at the small apothecary he had opened. Neither of them needed to work, but it made them feel more productive to have an occupation. Days were fulfilled with their jobs, and the nights spent in each other’s company. It couldn’t be better, than one day, his wife asked a question.

“Whatever happened to that brilliant student you used to talk about? Granger something?” she wondered.

Severus frowned, why would Lily bring up Miss Granger? Why would he even keep track of Granger?

He turned to his wife, “Why do you ask?”

Lily smiled mysteriously, “Perhaps because she was supposed to be the most extraordinary student to have passed through Hogwarts, but no one has heard anything about her since then.”

Sighing, knowing he would get no rest until he investigated, “I will look into it.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Six Months Later:

Severus was frustrated. Since Lily had asked him about Hermione Granger, he had become a man obsessed. After her graduation, great things were expected of the girl, yet there was not a trace of her. He had inquired at all the universities both Muggle and Magical, but she had not entered any of them, at least not under her own name and none of the exceptional students matched her description physically or by characteristic. None of the businesses nor Departments in the Ministry of Magic had hired her, he had even taken to scouring the bookshops and cafes to see if she had ‘taken a break’ to no avail. He had no idea where else to look within Britain, and he dreaded the thought of having to look world-wide. 

He decided to bite the bullet ask Harry Potter if he knew where his best friend was. To his astonishment, Potter had no idea who Hermione Granger was, much less where she would be.

When he confided this to Lily, she just shrugged, “Perhaps I was mistaken.”

Instantly suspicious, he demanded, “Then why did you insist I look for her?”

“Did I?” her eyes glinted with a suppressed emotion, “I didn’t mean for you to become consumed looking for a ghost.”

Severus pulled her into a hug, “I’m sorry, sweetheart, I should not have snapped at you.”

He couldn’t see her eyes flare in triumph.

~~~~~~~~~~~

One Year Later:

He was miserable. That was the only word that could describe his life. His once happy life. Things had gradually become strained between Lily and himself. She rarely came home from work on time and always had an excuse. He was beginning to suspect she was seeing someone else. Severus could only hope it wasn’t James Potter or Sirius Black.

A niggling at the back of his brain started his search for Hermione Granger again. He figured if he could find out what happened to her, he could fix his marriage to Lily Evans.

This time, he called in favours, hired a private investigator, and made a trip to the Department of Mysteries to talk to anyone that could help him locate the missing girl. After meeting with a delightfully acerbic woman called Amelia Bones, who agreed to look through her files, he decided to drop in on Lily for a surprise visit.

He was directed to her office, which was usually open, and he slid the door open silently, uncertainty making him cautious, and just as quietly closed it and slipped away unannounced. In her office, was Lily Evans and James Potter, exhibiting more passion than he had ever been able to elicit from her. His marriage was over and he felt nothing.

~~~~~~~~~

One Month Later:

Between the resources of Ms. Bones and the private investigator, a relative of Mundungus Fletcher no less, a Jones Fletcher, Severus finally had a solid lead on Hermione Granger. The last place that had word of her was a little bookstore in Cairo, Egypt. While it was a long shot, it was all he had.

Packing a bag from the little flat he had converted above the apothecary was not a hardship. He had little enough to bring with him, once Lily was finished packing everything she wanted from their once happy home. Severus was surprised to find he was actually anticipating his trip, everything over the last year had weighed him down, and he finally felt free.

Picking up the small Portkey, he activated it with a word, and swirled away to land in the alley way behind the Wizard Marriott Hotel. After checking in, he settled down for a short nap on a lovely bed. Severus decided that after he returned to England, he would be making some upgrades to his flat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus entered the bookshop, ‘Dreams of Reality’, and looked around in appreciation. He could easily spend hours browsing the shelves or reading in the little nook by the fireplace. The whole shop was a little piece of England nestled in the middle of Egypt.

He approached the counter to speak to the clerk there. To his amazement, he recognized one of his Slytherins. “Blaize Zabini! How are you?”

The dark skinned young man glanced up and then grinned, “Professor Snape. So good to see you. I am well.”

Severus blinked a couple of times, “The last I heard, you were heading up your family’s business in Italy. How are you in Egypt? In a bookshop?”

Blaize smirked, “Who says I’m not running it from here?”

A full out belly laugh left Severus, “Touche. However, I have other business I need help with.”

The younger man nodded, “Hermione Granger.”

“You know where she is?” Severus was cautious.

“Ms. Bones sent me a missive about your search. Granger worked here until about a year ago, I don’t know where she is now. However, she still comes in once in a while for books. She should be in tomorrow about 2 pm.”

Severus sighed in relief, he was nearly to the end of his search. “Do you have time for a coffee in the meantime?”

~~~~~~~~~~~

The following day, Severus made his way back to ‘Dreams of Reality’ and settled into a dark corner to observe the store. It was pushing close to 1:30 pm, and he wanted to be comfortable with his surroundings before his quarry showed up. It was a little after 2 pm, traffic had been slow, but the door chimed and a small figure entered.

Severus had to stifle a gasp at the sight of his former student. Her long curly hair was cut raggedly, her frame was thin under her baggy clothes and deep circles concaved her eyes.

What had happened to the brightest witch of the age?

She timidly approached the counter to softly greet Blaize who handed her a package. Carefully counting out her money, she failed to see the dark man cast a tracking spell on her. Nodding in thanks to her former classmate, she all but ran from the store.

Severus wanted nothing more than to follow her right away, but his life experiences had taught him patience and the tracking spell would last for hours yet.

“What happened to her?” he demanded of Zabini.

The Italian looked a little sad, “She was so bright and full of life. This whole place was her concept. Granger was all set to publish some great manuscript, when she suddenly up and sold the shop to me and then disappeared. Then six months ago, she started coming back in for books, looking like that. She won’t answer my questions.”

A terrible idea began to percolate in the back of Severus’ mind. “This all happened in the last year and a half?” Blaize nodded. 

It had to be coincidence. That Lily had asked about her and Granger sold her business and disappeared. But then he realized, he didn’t really know what Lily’s job was. He had been to her office a few times, he deliberately blocked the memory of finding her with Potter, but he didn’t know what she did. Was there a connection?

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus stood in front of a dilapidated building, staring in horror at the name; ‘Luscious Ladies’. This was were Granger, no, Hermione – she deserved better than to be forgotten and set aside as a nonentity – was living and working? He shuddered at the thought of having to enter such an unsanitary building, but he had been in worse, maybe.

The interior of the building was worse than he thought, dark, grimy, depressing, were all appropriate words to describe the dingy space. He carefully tested each step as he made his way through the maze of corridors, following the nebulous trail of the tracking spell.

It ended in a minuscule room that held a small cot and nothing else. A tattered blanket was half hanging over the dirty window, letting a bit of light into the room. A small figure was curled up on the cot, partially draped on the floor.

Uncertain of what to do, Severus stood in the door frame for a moment, before entering and crouching down to check Hermione’s pulse. He was surprised when she flipped over and shoved her wand in his face.

They stared at each other for a full minute before Hermione collapsed back on the cot, “Please leave me alone, Professor.”

“I can’t. I’ve been looking for you for over a year. I need to know what happened to you. Please, Hermione, look at me. I can help you,” Severus had never pleaded to anyone, but he knew he needed to make right what ever had happened here.

The girl-woman sighed, “There is nothing you can do. This is my burden to bear, alone.”

Stubborn, Severus shook his head, “No one needs to be alone. Especially not you. Please, tell me what happened.”

Shining brown eyes, glimmering with tears, looked up into his, “Ask your wife.”

Black eyes bore down into hers, “She is no longer my wife.” He softened slightly, “Can I at least get you something to eat?”

Hermione’s stomach grumbled at the word ‘eat’ and she flushed, “I suppose so.”

Standing up, he offered a hand to the small woman beside him and lead her away to short distance for some food. So absorbed in their conversation, neither noticed the glittering green eyes that followed them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the small cafe, Hermione began her tale. “I was in the Shrieking Shack, we had just gathered your memories and the boys left to view them. I was trying to stop the blood flow from your neck when there was a flash of white. At first I thought it was Fawkes, but then everything began to waver like in a heat wave. When it settled, I was here in Egypt with a bookshop. I settled in, thinking this was my life, having only vague memories of before. Blaize showed up and we became friends, then a few months ago, I received a threatening letter that I was to leave the bookshop and disappear. I didn’t pay any attention at first, but then I was attacked. I gave the shop to Blaize and tried to find other work, but no one would take me until about six months ago at that...that...place.”

He was devastated. His once perfect wife had done this, probably with Potter’s help. How had this happened?

Severus reached over to take Hermione’s hand, and saw her eyes widen. He thought he saw panic in her face, and immediately regretted his attempt to comfort, when a spell hit them both.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Hermione and Severus woke up, he was tied to a post, long legs stretched out before him and his arms uncomfortably twisted behind him and bound. Hermione, however, was naked, spreadeagled and pinned to the top of a pentagram just a few feet from him. He thought they were back in the same building he had taken Hermione from earlier.

A giggle drew his attention, and he saw Lily and James entwined in an embrace on the other side of the room. Her long red hair was twisted into an elaborate braid that trailed down her naked back. Severus realized everyone but him was nude.

“Poor Severus, he still hasn’t figured it out,” Lily purred.

“Snivilus was never as bright as he thought he was,” James replied.

“Should we tell him? Let him live with the guilt he is responsible for his soul-mate’s death?” Lily giggled manically.

“Lily, what have you done?” Severus managed to ask as the implications sank in.

“Dear old Hermione here is your soul-mate, and I need her to die to anchor this time-line. You see in the original you overheard a prophecy that you told to your ‘Dark Lord’ and it lead to my and James’ death. I had a dream about it, and realized that I could change the time-line. It meant I had to bed you, and believe me that was the most horrible part of this. Now, you get to watch as I make things right for MY family,” Lily ranted on.

Hermione moaned as she woke up part way through Lily’s ‘explanation’. “Wha-”

“Crucio,” James drawled as he pointed his wand at the bound girl.

Hermione screamed as she tried to writhe in her bounds, and her blood began to flow. Severus could only watch in horror as the pentagram started to glow. He had to do something. He wrestled with his bonds until he could feel them getting wet from his own blood. Hermione continued to scream as she was cursed again and again. Dark tendrils began to rise from the pentagram and caress her body, her screams rose into shrieks of agony.

Heavy energy filled the room as a dark entity filled it, just as a figure was forming, Severus felt light as he was separated from his body. A voice surrounded him, “What will you give to save her?”

Memories of his true past flitted through his mind, and he remembered his vague ‘Anything’ to Dumbledore in exchange for his best friend’s life. The best friend and once wife, that was now cavorting with darker spells and entities than he had been accused of. He had learned many things over the years, including how to properly bargain. But he somehow knew, that bargaining was not the answer.

“I would give my life for hers,” he stated plainly.

“Done,” the voice rang out for all to hear.

This time the screams came from other than Hermione.

“What have you done Severus Snape?” Lily screeched as she and James were sucked into the floor. The pentagram disappeared, the dark energy vanished abruptly with a snarl, and Hermione painstakingly crawled towards Severus.

Summoning all her energy, she managed to find her wand and cut through his bonds before collapsing into his lap. Shaking hard, Severus pulled her close and held her tight, knowing everything was going to change yet again.

~~~~~~~~~~

One Week Later:

“So an old god came to the rescue at the last minute and you pledged yourself to him. Did I get that right?” Blaize inquired. The three were sitting in the back patio of the bookshop, sharing coffee, and sharing details of their ordeal.

“Yes, that is correct. It was Horus that saved us. When he asked what I would ‘give to save her’, I thought at first he meant Hermione. But when I offered my life, he decided to right the balance, and send Lily and James to the Underworld for trying to change the time-line. As Hermione and I are soul-mates, we will both serve Horus for as long as he lets us live. That part was not made clear.”

Hermione smiled, “We have much to catch up on, and to heal, so we will be staying in Egypt for a time. Eventually we will return to England, but not yet.”

Blaize looked at her, “You know you can always work here!”

She smiled demurely, “Perhaps, or Severus might want help with his new branch of the apothecary.”

Blaize raised his coffee cup, “Of course. I propose a toast to ‘good friends’.”

“Good friends,” echoed Severus and Hermione as they clinked cups with Blaize. 

Unbeknownst to the couple, Blaize’s eyes glowed gold for a few seconds, he was happy with his choice in champions.

End


End file.
